One can also be more selective about whom they interact with while playing an MMO. You can carry on a variety of different conversations: in a group (guild/raid/party chat), private (through PMs), or through a private channel that only certain people can join. The ignore function is the ultimate weapon for those who can't deal with certain personality types: Imagine if you could simply make anyone who annoyed you effectively disappear. In MMOs, this option is taken for granted.
The safety provided by online gaming anonymity means you never have to deal with the real-life hostilities of prejudice and bigotry, unless you choose to. While these views are still rampant in online communities, they can be less of a factor in socializing because no one will know whether you might be a target for a player's prejudices unless you reveal details about yourself. By default, since all players are represented by their avatars, there are no disfavored minorities in the online world.
But once we had a few beers and went to my place for some Rock Band, everyone had a good time.
Granted, rampant racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-Semitism and all other sorts of social ills permeate its social atmosphere, but that is a completely different topic. As long as you, the player, don't reveal yourself to be a target, then you can get to know others, and people can get to know you irrespective of your race, religion, sex, or sexuality. This is not to say that you should remain "closeted" in WoW; rather, you don't have to worry about people automatically disregarding you merely because of what you look like.
Women in particular may feel a greater level of comfort in their social interactions. You never have to reveal your sex to other players, and you never have to deal with the implications of being treated differently because of it. Women can choose if and when they reveal their gender, and thus can choose whether or not they want gender roles to be a factor in their social experience. Women don't have to worry about being leered at, objectified, or being the subject of another player's attention for all the wrong reasons.
Social interaction is often considered one of the basic human needs, and for many, it's quite difficult to cope with issues that may be keeping them from achieving a satisfying and fulfilling social life. Games like World of Warcraft are an ideal outlet for them, a way to derive the feeling of being a welcome part of a community, something they may not be accustomed to in their real lives.
The challenge for many is in finding a way to channel the positive effects of social interactions in MMOs into their day-to-day lives. It's easy to make fun of the online gamer that spends "too much time behind the keyboard" and label them a basement-dwelling recluse, but these players often have serious issues that keep them from engaging in healthy, active social lives. MMOs are their way to fill that void. One can imagine that as the gaming community continues to grow, it will become easier for likeminded people to seek each other out and form bonds, both inside the game and out.
Online games bring people from all religions, ethnicities, and backgrounds together in the pursuit of fun. There's hope that one day, as the gaming generation grows to become the policy makers and brain trust of the future, that the divisions and differences that kept us from interacting with one another will be replaced by the desire to form one great game-playing community, united in our search for epic loot.
[Gerald has been writing professionally about videogames for nearly a decade, and he still hasn't taken how lucky he is for granted. If you want to know more about him, you can catch up with what's going on in his life through his personal Twitter.]
